An alternate-history of pre-Murica. On.. at least in these parts. In 3 1-hr. segments, 1893--1942

Little idea if many of these early tunes, dancing, [the pivotal Show Boat wherein:] Jerome Kern introduces a plot/A Story! in musicals (miscegenation! yet.. are even a back- back-story to any pre-codgers here?
(Even my *Mater was a tad, when "42nd Street" began to fuse-into-Symbol; then Irving Berlin became American Music. Marx Brothers happened.
Much of this pre-radio (!) ... people had A PIANO; bought sheet music, played, sang the tunes.

* I have to do the arithmetic to map her/my casual relationships to the progression from vaudeville/black-face/Rag-time and its n-spinoffs ... James Cagney's perfect recap of George M. Cohan, the start of the Talkies: Al Jolson with black-face vaudevillians ...


But if you'd want to sample what That-all was About? Then PBS has done a smashing job of mixing authentic pics into enough vignettes to grok-the-flavour, at least to ampleness.
Even the intro comments and segues are concise and crammed with enough factoids to satisfy the inner information-sponge.


Break a leg..